Chronic constipation

Hello everyone, I am a 40 yo male with a mildly redundant sigmoid colon that intermittently twists, finally hit the brick wall these past few months and went back to the Dr. and a battery of tests have been run, colonoscopy & barium enema were normal  per say. Resulting in a mildly redundant colon at a young age. As well as an additional loop located on the lower right side of pelvis that was diagnosed as "slightly" volvulus. Just recently a sitz marker (24 little rings inside the capsule) took it Sat afternoon, X-ray Mon resulted in 24 markers, Wed 24 markers in ascending colon and sigmoid, Fri 20 markers in ascending and sigmoid thru to the rectum. My livestyle is healthy and active and I have been suffering pain in the belt line for years. Constipation pratically all my life. Laxatives help but eventually quit working. I have experienced problems with urination and erectile disfunction with the onset of this problem that gets worse as symptoms incerase. But the GI doc says they are not related???  The GI has me on bentyl and liberax (intestinal relaxers) walking around dazed all day but I have to say they do help with the pain. Miralax which makes me bloated takes days to work IF infact it does, ducolax then mag citrate when they don't work! Can't go out in public with that burning explosion pending  My rectal exams have always been full of soft stool. Occasionally I have the pleasure of a mild prolapse when packed up that lasts for days!  I have been dry heaving and coughing on the toilet. I'm exhausted everyday with this.

 

Through all this I have been met with some good and bad people. From the Doctors in the ER thinking I'm seeking Pain meds, Family telling me to live with it. Me thinking it's all in my head.  A mis diagonsed CT scan done in the ER 4 yrs prior Because they were not looking in my lower right hip for my sigmoid where I said the pain was!. Then you hear the word NORMAL a lot! How is this normal? My surgeon said after the colonoscopy that if in fact the G.I Doc. cannot control the bowel through laxatives that at some point I could come to a sigmoid re-section. So now I am going to the G.I guy so he can tell me what concoction of laxitives to take. Something I have been doing myself all along.  They don't seem to understant the constant debelating suffering this has caused. I Pray for resolve. Waiting for the G.I Doc. reports on the sitz marker next week.

Uh, sounds like you have colonic inertia and a pelvic floor dysfunction. Please come join us on the ostomies message board, total colectomy part 32 where all of us with colonic inertia post. Colonic inertia is an extreme form of slow transit constipation. Many have had their entire colons removed and some have had only a portion of their colons removed. Some of us suffer anismus too, which is a pelvic floor dysfunction. I can not poop normally and it takes tons of miralax to get the stool to move through my sluggish colon and some creative acrobats to get the stool to the rectum and into the toilet. My life revolves around when I can take miralax and how many hours a day I can set aside to try and poop. I am a wife and mother of 4 kids, plus I work 40 to 50 hours a week during the school year. I can not travel, go camping with family, etc. due to this debilitating condition.

In the past all doctors told me to increase fiber, drink more water, take mineral oil. Well, I have actually found and most of us with colonic inertia have also, that we do better with a diet restricting fiber. Fiber only makes my constipation and bloat worse! This includes beans and high fiber cereals and bars. YUCK!

 Hi Backed up, Have you tried Fiber One, Honey Clusters or any other kind of Fiber One Cereals? Really has helped me. Good Luck!!

hi backed up (arent we all?) i definitely feel for you. im a 26yo female very new to this site. been suffering from chronic constipation since i can remember. completely unable to have a bowel movement without LARGE amounts of harsh laxatives. i have high tension pelvic floor dysfunction that completely defies all treatment and therapy i can throw at it. meeting with a surgeon on wed to discuss a subtotal colectomy as all other options have been exhausted.

 

my mom actually has redundant colon and got the runaround from doctors for years. she's been taking laxatives to poop since before i was born. shes had to deal with lots of pain thru the years, but doctors told her there was nothing they could do and that she just had to continue taking laxatives. she had her gall bladder removed at the end of last year and she says the pain she feels has completely gone, but she still cant poop. i told her she should just go in and have her colon shortened, but shes sick of having to fight for a normal life and has decided to live off laxatives forever.

 

please keep on the doctors to make you well. no one should have to live in constant pain and discomfort. ive been seeing doctors since i was in high school and they all dismissed me. i finally found a good specialist who has been on my side to get me well. but that process is even going on 3 years now. dont give up! stay positive (i know its hard). its a long tedious process, but i know its gonna be worth it.

 

 

Thank you every one  They say now that I have cronic inertia through out the colon, Waiting to hear from the specialist to hear how much of my colon they want to remove. I too cannot handle a high fiber diet very painful gas and bloating, and as far as flax goes about 5 yrs ago I became the flax master and after about a year that stopped working for me. In fact High fiber makes your colon grow longer and longer causing potentially more difficulties. I am forced to live on Miralax as any solidity to my stool is agonizing. This prob dates back in my Past to my Mom forcing me to sit on the toilet for hours at a time while she waited to see a bowel movement and often told the story that I was too busy wanting to play and watch T.V. rather than Poop!!!!! If anybody has children that cannot go to the bathroom have the evulated by a Gastroenterologist to avoid this asap. I first had severe pain at age 10 in 1979 and the Doc. then said this was normal. Again at age 19 I saught medical help and again Normal. Less junk food more fiber was what I was told. I now know every clean public bathroom within a 100 mile radius of my home. Just a little update on the Sitz marker (IF you have not had one ask for it to be done it will help the G.I. Doctor see where things are moving or not)all mine were persent on the 7th day. That was agonizing for anybody that has to take that test as you cannot have laxatives during or before and when that final day comes your all about ready to explode. Be sure to have the mag sitrate handy. Turns out my mother is living with a voulvus colon in her transverse colon (by her liver) and all of her sisters have redundant colons. Indeed her mother died at age 89 from a perforated colon after living her whole life dependant on magnesium citrate. I always went to my father thinking this was a prostate issue. When it was actually a "family curse" on the Sicilian side of the family.

 I was reading about the pelvic floor disfunction that some you have & I would like to say a little something about that.   have researched it and there are exersizes you can try to help called (KEGALS) They will help develop your pelvic floor muscles and are for both male and females but you have to go to the physical theparist 1st to be sure this may help you. I also do a little light yoga stretching when capable sometimes it helps with the gas and gets things moving but not always.  We have to try everything.

 

In addition I want to tell you I suffer from poland syndrome (web fingers and underdeveloped chest muscles) A result form my father being exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, I believe this has something to do with my situation.

 

Good luck all I'll post back as the situation developes. Hang in there and never give up!!!

 

Post Edited (backedup) : 3/27/2010 10:21:49 PM (GMT-6)

there are two kinds of fiber, soluble and insoluble. i don't care if my colon is as long as the brooklyn bridge as long as i can poop.

you must be jealous of me because i take miralax, fiber and konstyl each day.

got my 10 mg pill...let me tell you unscored pills taste UGLY.

take care of yourselves, all

It seems about a month b4 I was ready to have a colectomy I was having what I thought was a bad reaction to Bentyl and Librax.  Slurred speech, stumbling and then my toe nails went purple/black.  A trip to the ER revealed a large mass encompassing my pituatary.  Prolactinemia, 3800 level of prolactin, a lactating women has a 650.  Responding well to gabergaline treatment, levels down.  GI postponed surgery to see if I regain any colon function as they have never seen a connection b4. wish me luck.  been a month and 3 bm w/o laxative yesterday and 1 today. I hope this is a miracle.  B4 they found the tumor, for about 3 months, I was taking 2 to 3 ducalx and 1 bottle of mag citrate and multiple shots of miralax and 36 hours later I was having I diarrea movements.  Now Mag citrate works in 3 to 4 hrs and the past 2 days have been unassisted.  My urinary function was also stopping and I thought it was colon related, but found out it was from the harmonal imbalance.  The tumor is non cancerous and hopfully will shrink w/ medication, 90% chance.

Hi I am new to this site. Firstly I feel so sorry for you and what you have been through. I have had chronic constipation from the age of about 17. I feel so sorry for anyone who lives with this on a daily basis as I did myself.Numerous colonoscopies due to the chronic constipation not going for weeks at a time. Bye the way I am now 60. 12 months ago I was at my whits end no bowel movement for 3 weeks. In a desperate move I decided to have a colon cleanse by a homeopath. Anyway had the colon cleanse but very little was removed after about an hours duration. I was then given some literature containing what to eat . Here we go again I thought as I have tried every conceivable dietry trick in the book so I thought. Anyway to cut a long story short she advised me to take linseed twice a day. The linseed needs to be cruched for it to work. Here we go again I thought another waste of time. Anyway I decided to go along with it after all when you have been chronically constipated for 43 years then anything is worth trying. I obtained the flaxseed other name linseed the same day from a health store and began taking it the following day, 4 days later nothing. The homeopath did state that it can take up to a week before it works and guess what HEY PRESTO I had a normal bowel motion about 1 week later. Since then I have taken the seed everyday for the last 12 months. In that time I have not had to take any laxatives at all not even a softner I go virtually everydaynormally occasionally 2 days. Anyway I can only suggest you try it as I have taken laxatives all those years and thought I would never get my bowels working properly again I take the brown linseed and you do have to drink plenty with it. I have a hot cup of tea straight after taking it and that does the trick but you have to drink during the day also. Anyway hope this can help you as it has me. Good luck

Hi no I dont take flaxseed oil I would imagine this would act like a lubricant such as lactulose which never worked on me.The flaxseed has to be ground for it to work otherwise it will just go through the bowel without working. I take a large tablespoon every morning in porridge. The porridge may add some help to as you are getting the best of both worlds. One is a soluble fibre the other is an insoluble. Remember you must drink water with the flaxseed or fluids in other forms. I cant  remember whether I said I have a hot cup of tea and this works for me but you must drink during the day also. Anyway let me know how you get on I would love to know if you have the miraculous results I have had. You will get the brown linseed other name flaxseed from a health store. Anyway good luck keep in touch with results I hope lol Bye the way once the seed is ground keep it in the fridge . If you read on the internet google it will tell you of other benefits as well. Sorry I didnt reply straight away but my email account keeps going of for some reason which is a pain

You definately need to crush it it comes in seed form Hope it works As I said I started it last January 2011its now12 Feb 2012 and still havnt had to take any type of laxative at all. Anyway good luck. I am so annoyed that something so simple and natural has worked for me. When I think of all the colonoscopies I have gone through.Because of the constipation I now have a sliding hiatus hernia with the knock on effects of gerd barretts oesophagus 2 ulcers now healed with meds. I could literally kill the doctors for not suggesting linseed years ago instead of all kinds of laxatives I agree the only thing doctors are interested in is filling there own pockets

As far as I know you can only buy it in seed form but it is reallyn easy to grind only takes a few seconds I use the grinder part of a baymixer But I am sure you could use any type of blender It looks very like bran when its ground Anyway let me know how you get on Hope plenty of poops on the horizon lol good luck

 

No it took me about a week before it worked for me. I actually took laxatives before I went to clear myself out I meant to tell you this. Once cleared out I began the flaxseed Is your daughter normally constipated funnily enough it can run in families. My sister and I both suffered with constipation from teens I often wonder whether it has anything to do with hormones. My friend who lives down the road from me also suffers due to having to take pain killers she too startee taking it and hey presto back to normal in a couple of days. Just persevere I am sure you will have good results dont forget keep me informed

The doctors today dont seem to have any patience if they listened they would realize how disabling it can be. I dont think you will find the flaxseed in a chemist it is usually bought in a health shop eg Hollands and barretts. It can also be bought online. I get the brown flaxseed the other name for it is linseed. Dont forget it must be ground before its used otherwise it will just be passed as seed. You can take 2 tablespoons to start off with and once it starts to work take one tablespoon but to be honest it doesnt matter if you carry on with the 2 tbspoons you will know what you need yourself once you start going. Just remember plenty of fluids. Did you mention to the doctor about the linseed. They dont seem very up on natural remedies all they want to do is fill you full of laxatives hence the miralax. Anyway let me know how you get on good luck plit the flaxseed up if you want 1 Tablespoon in the morning one at night. I mix mine with porridge